Every greatTVshow delicately walks along the fine border of captivating its audience and losing them in the process, and some storylines go too far one way or the other. Sometimes writers double down on a plot that they hope can be compelling but ends up being bothersome. Even thebest TV shows of all timecan sometimes overrely on specific stories, to the detrement of their overarching appeal.
From stereotypical personalities inYoung Sheldonto repetitive tropes inThe Bear season 4, it’s not uncommon to see attempts at long-form storytelling take a wrong turn. However, too much of anything can be toxic, which can describe a number of TV shows over the years that lost momentum due to weak overarching plots that overstayed their welcome. Here are ten TV shows that took a storyline and ran it straight into the ground.
10Lindsay’s Constant Identity Crisis
Freaks and Geeks(1999-2000)
25 years later,Freaks and Geeksremains a priceless explosion of nostalgia, endearment, and humor. The show’s main character, Lindsay Weir, struggled to find her place among high school groups. This fueled the emotional heartbeat of the show. Despite this extremely relatable and sometimes entertaining experience, the show’s insistence on making her drift back and forth between rebellion and conformity felt overplayed. Whether she was ditching the Mathletes for a Grateful Dead concert or stressed about attending an academic event,the indecision just kept going, getting older with each instance.
A prospective but never produced season 2 ofFreaks and Geekswould have explored a romance between Lindsay and Daniel, hinting that her flirations between paths would have likely continued if the show had recieved more seasons.
What initially felt like the sweetest coming-of-age arc couldn’t help but feel like a frustrating narrative loop at times. Instead of watching Lindsay grow or embrace a more defined sense of self, the series left her in limbo.This lack of decision made Lindsay Weir feel less like a relatable teenager and more like a plot device stuck on repeat,a saddening fate considering the incredible potential of her character and the entire show.
The Office
Cast
This mockumentary comedy series observes the mundane and humorous daily lives of employees at the Scranton branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. It offers insights into office dynamics, personalities, and the eccentric behavior of both management and staff, depicting an ordinary workplace with extraordinary characters.
Andy Bernard was always quirky, but endearingly so. However, by the end ofThe Officehe was practically unrecognizable, not to mention painful to watch. What started as an entertaining mix of insecurity and bravado quickly outgrew the character’s development,leaving Andy at a naive, rudimentary level of the show’s emotional intelligence. Andy’s late-series arcs — like abandoning his job for a failed boat trip or trying to become a famous singer — were outlandish and downright annoying. This makes a big chunk ofThe Officehard to watch.
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In a matter of episodes, Andy’s over-the-top, entitled, “lovable idiot” caricature traded places with a poor decision maker with rage management issues akin to a three-year-old. This disappointing shift not only left viewers blindsided but also wasted time and energy that could have harvested numerous other compelling storylines inThe Office. Instead of evolving with dignity like his peers,Andy became a cautionary tale about what happens when a show doesn’t know when to stop tweaking a personality.
Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto’srelentless pursuit of culinary excellence madeThe Bearone of the most anxiety-inducing shows on television. Despite its success with fans and critics alike, Berzatto’s obsession with perfection was stretched so thin by the end of the second season that it risked overshadowing other memorable moments and elements of the show. Carmy’s spiral into chaos felt repetitive,as if the show was constantly stuck switching between shouting matches and slammed doors.
Many of the show’s intense kitchen scenes were filmed in real, functioning Chicago restaurants to capture the authentic chaos of a professional kitchen.
WhileThe Bear’s raw portrayal of kitchen culture was undeniably a legendary ride in television history, it did teeter towards the glamorization of toxic perfectionism. It’s hard not to be left asking if Carmy’s obsession was an excuse to keep the tension dialed to eleven. It certainly works in terms of keeping the audience’s hearts racing and it sets the show up in the perfect way for an anxiety-riddled plot to unfold. Despite this,The Bearremains an impressively constructed (if at times frustaingly repetive) show.
Young Sheldon
A spinoff of the sitcom The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon follows the youth and coming-of-age of Sheldon Cooper during his childhood in Texas as he pursues science and academia. The show also follows his parents, siblings, and Mee-Maw, painting a picture of the world where Sheldon grew up.
Young Sheldontook everythingThe Big Bang Theoryoverdid with Sheldon and doubled down on it.Sheldon Cooper’s awkwardness immediately creates a lingering, never-ending cycle of cringe-worthy misunderstandings. While the show found unexpected drama elsewhere with members of the supporting cast (the success of which led to spin-offs likeGeorgie & Mandy’s First Marriage), Sheldon’s constant awkward turns gave the show a bland tenor that made it hard to watch at times.
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The young genius’s over-reliance on the same repeated conflict puts a heavy-footed brake on any character development. This meant little respect was paid to storylines in which Sheldon might be challenged, or grow over time. There’s really not much else that could be expected when the character’s entire personality stems from an older version of himself, which itself became a boring one-dimensional character inThe Big Bang Theory. What could have been a thoughtful exploration of being gifted and subsequently isolated became a rinse-and-repeat exercise in bland and forgettable comedy.
The Fall of the House of Usher
Loosely based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe, The Fall of the House of Usher is a horror drama mini-series created by Mike Flanagan (Midnight Mass, The Haunting of Hill House) for Netflix. This modern retelling follows a corrupt pharmaceutical CEO, Roderick Usher, as he is forced to reckon with his past as a curse begins to claim the lives of each of his children.
TheFall of the House of Usherrevels in its macabre atmosphere. This dark tenor is carried through the dark visuals, cutting perforances, and grim writing. While the show is incredible in many regards, the series’ relentless barrage of death-related symbolism eventually became overwhelming. The repetitive gothic tone often felt a little too on the nose, reminding audiences that theimmersiveHouse of Usherexperienceis just a TV show with bombastic moments.
An overindulgence in death metaphors made the story feel heavy-handed, as though the audience couldn’t be trusted to grasp the show’s clear themes about morality and mortality. Instead of enhancing the haunting mood, the constant reminders of death dulled its impact. While an absolutely terrifying watch,TheFall of the House of Ushercertainly had the potential to take a much more subtle approach to horror,with less symbolic emphasis on consistency and thematic elements.
New Girl
New Girl is a television series that debuted in 2011, centering on Jessica Day, an eccentric young woman. Following a breakup, she moves in with three single men, navigating her quirky personality and forming unexpected friendships in her new living situation.
Nick Miller and Jess Day had an undeniably intoxicating and entertaining chemistry inNew Girl, but their relationship was dragged through so many unnecessary ups and downs that it lost its charm. Like most love stories that are spread out across several seasons,things got bland the minute the tension broke for the first time.It’s hard to keep a love story interesting on a long-running show, or at least the will-they-or-won’t-they trope that shows likeNew Girlcouldn’t quite escape.
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While their banter and quirks initially made Nick and Jess a fan-favorite, their constant backtracking hindered the power couple into a textbook case of diminishing returns. By the time they finally settled down by the show’s conclusion, it was hard to celebrate after being dragged through so much romantic whiplash. While it remained satisfying to see the couple’s journey finally come to an end (or new beginning), the romance had lost its unique draw.
The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead is a television series that premiered on June 24, 2025. It follows Sheriff’s deputy Rick Grimes, who awakens from a coma to find a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies. He embarks on a journey to locate his family, encountering various survivors amidst the chaos.
Fans ofThe Walking Deadwere shocked and angry when the show faked Glenn Rhee’s death in season six. An intense cliffhanger aired where it appeared Rhee was devoured by zombies. Then, weeks later, audiences discovered that their hero had miraculously survived despite the harrowing circumstances he had been left in.Twists and misdirects are staples of any movie or TV show,but this stunt felt particularly manipulative. The fan’s sadness over Glenn’s loss became frustration when the character was revealed to have escaped certain doom with little warning, especially in a show where such fake-outs were typically avoided.
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This wasn’t even the only time the show had death fake-outs with Glenn, but hisseason 6 survival feels like the more egregious. This meant that when the character was actually killed during the events of season 7, the impact was lessened. Audiences had already gotten used to the idea of the fan-favorite character being killed off, making his (admittedly brutal) demise at the hands of Negan less surprising than one would hope for.
Modern Family
Modern Family is a comedy series that follows the unconventional Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker family as they redefine what makes a family in their modern age. Broken into sub-families, the three diverse groups shake up the nuclear formula with empty nesters, adopted children, gender neutrality, and more as they attempt to navigate the various pitfalls and comedic misadventures of their dysfunctional but warm-hearted family dynamic.
Haley Dunphy and Dylan Marshall’s love life played through many ofModern Family’s funniest episodesand was charming at first, but their constant breakups and makeups eventually became tedious.Each attempt at another relationship felt less like a meaningful step forward and more like a lazy way to reignite old flamesfor the sake of the show’s convenience. The problem is that the relationship felt forced, which may have had something to do with Haley’s unplanned development into a more important character.
Haley Dunphy was supposed to be a minor character at first, but steadily gained a much larger role in the series.
This consistent ebb and flow robbed both characters of deeper growth, placing them in the narrow box of traditional high-school sweethearts. Instead of exploring new dynamics or giving Haley a more fulfilling arc,the show kept her tethered to a love story that had long since run out of steam before Haley or any of her siblings were even young adults.It was a disservice to the Dunphy family and the fans who wanted more, except for maybe Phil, who could find a childlike sense of wonder in any aspect of life.
Succession
Succession is a Black Comedy and Satire television show created by Jesse Armstrong. It stars Hiam Abbass, Nicholas Braun, Brian Cox, and Kieran Culkin and follows the story of an aging conglomerate owner as he deals with his declining health and the sudden realization that one of his children will soon inherit his position and run his company.
Kendall Roy’s shameful arc inSuccessionis a stubborn cycle of ambition, failure, and temporary redemption. His emotional spirals feel centric to the show’s narrative, but the repetition of his seasonal turmoil becomes extremely predictable. Multiple times in the show, Kendall either declares independence from his father or substance abuse,only to come crawling back.It’s a vicious cycle that occasionally captivates but mostly just takes away from everything else going on.
This overused pattern made it difficult to root for the heir’s success. Jeremy Strong’s portrayal of a freshly crashed out Kendall Roy was delightfully hilarious, yet dark at the same time. Roy’s struggles were undeniably gripping, at least the first few times around. However,the true complexity of Roy’s character was undermined throughoutSuccessionthrough repetition, with far too much emphasis on the same elements. Many other possibilities could have stemmed from Kendall’s vast internal depth that remain more or less untapped.
Gilmore Girls
In the fictional town of Star’s Hollow, single mother Lorelai Gilmore raises her high-achieving teenage daughter Rory. Mother and daughter rely on each other throughout their own life changes, romantic entanglements, and friendships.
Lorelai Gilmore’s romantic adventures were an electric cornerstone ofGilmore Girls, but her unresolved feelings for her high-school sweetheart, Christopher Hayden, often muddled the flow of her growth. It made sense for Christopher to play a part in Lorelai’s life, but the show leaned a little too hard on their dynamic. Every time Lorelai seemed to move forward, Christopher would reappear with the intent of creating drama,a trend that repeated several times over the show. This beat became especially frustrating by the latter-half of the show, long after it had reached a believable end point.
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This lingering subplot only stalled Lorelai’s growth. Christopher’s repeated intrusions quickly began to feel like a narrative crutch, throwing more shame on the writers ofGilmore Girlsthan anyone else. As seen in other long-running plotlines that didn’t work out, will-they-won’t-they romances are hard to keep compelling.Gilmore Girlshighlighted how a fundamental character dynamic can become frustrating and repetitive, especially as belovedTVcharacters make the same types of mistakes again and again.
